Great Cruise taking us away from the winter weather

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 88

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Explorer of the Seas

9 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 10, 2020

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7636

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We really enjoyed our cruise, and were happy to visit Aruba again while visiting Bonaire and Curacao for the first time. This was our second cruise with Royal Caribbean, and we would have no hesitant to go again -- especially in the winter months since we live in Pennsylvania!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Royal Caribbean was very well organized and it was easy to get checked-in and aboard.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The food was fabulous in every dining room and buffet. The service was wonderful, we lacked for nothing.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
We enjoyed pool-side activities, trivia games, and board games.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
The shows were top-rate. We particularly enjoyed the Frankie Valli/Four Seasons show. We even liked the juggler and magician!

Children's Programs

We had no children with us on this trip.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Our room steward, Kadek, was thorough and very conscience. Our dining room waiters were terrific, and made sure we had plenty of time to eat before getting to the 7:00 pm shows that we wanted to attend. Isabel Trivino, the head waiter, was wonderful in arranging the same table for all 8 people in our traveling party.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Everything was clean and well maintained. The layout and design were fine. The only thing we would like to see is more room for people to play board games in the evening. The only place set up for games was the library, and it was full every evening after the shows.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The cabin was clean and used the space very well to fit everything in. We needed a few more hangers, and our room steward got them for us very quickly. We enjoyed the balcony. The bed was comfortable, as were the pillows.

Ship tip

Make sure you read the "Compass" daily paper so you know what events are available to you.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
We did not do an excursion. We went to the airport and stayed there until our flight departed.

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5
I really enjoyed the beach time. There were plenty of chairs, and the water was beautiful. I also enjoyed the lunch that was provided for us.

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5
This was my favorite port. The island is gorgeous. We did a 1/2 day jeep excursion, which showed us some very beautiful parts of the island.

Kralendijk, Bonaire

5 out of 5
This was our first time in Bonaire and we did a discovery tour. Our tour guide was excellent, and we learned a lot about the island.

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5
This was our first time in Curacao. We did a tour and the seaquarium. We really enjoyed both the tour and seaquarium. We had beautiful weather the entire trip!

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Again, Royal Caribbean has disembarkation down to a science. We had no problems getting off the ship or getting our luggage.
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3 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

wgammon1    4 years ago

Glad you had a good cruise. Thanks for the great review. We will be on Explorer Oct. 2021 and can't wait !

beachbum2day    4 years ago

Thank you for your wonderful review! We'll be on the explorer in 2021 and look forward to seeing all it has to offer ! RCCL has always been a favorite of ours ! Happy cruising ! 😎😎

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